Festuca pratensis
Meadow fescue ( Festuca pratensis)
The meadow fescue ( Festuca pratensis [ ka ː festu pra ː te ː nsɪs ] ) is a member of the family Gramineae ( Poaceae ) belonging form rich meadow grass. He is a widely used, willow firm and the cattle like uneaten feed grass in the economy grassland.
Description
The Meadow fescue is a perennial top grass, which forms loose clumps with short rhizomes and little tendency to form closed turf. It reaches heights of growth between 30 and 120 centimeters. Its stems grow upright ascending to arching. The bare Sheaths are rounded up to the base and open at the back. Those of the basal leaves are brown and zerfasernd. The dark green leaves are 20 inches long and up to 5 mm wide. They are limp and narrowed into a fine point. The lower leaf surface is glossy. The Spreitenbasis wearing pointed auricles. The ligules are comparatively short with less than 1 millimeter.
The flowering period extends from June to July. The inflorescence of the meadow Schwingels is a einseitswendige, erect or sometimes slightly overhanging panicle. The reaches a length up to 15 centimeters and appear pulled together more or less. The smaller of the lower panicle carries one to three 7 - to 8- blooded spikelets. These are narrow -elliptic, light green sometimes crowded purple. The glumes are lanceolate and trimmed. The lemmas broadly lanceolate acuminate and ungekielt.
The meadow fescue hybridized with the German ryegrass (Lolium perenne ) to the genus Bastard ' Ordinary fescue - ryegrass ', also called Schweidel (x festulolium loliaceum ( Huds. ) P. Fournier ). The name ' Schweidel ' is a form of fescue ( Festuca ) and ryegrass (Lolium ).
Distribution and location
The original distribution area of grass covers Europe and temperate Asia. It was introduced to South West Asia, America, Australia and New Zealand and is used today almost worldwide.
The Meadow fescue is in Central Europe generally very common. It prefers humid, mist and taureiche layers near the coast or in valleys. It occurs to the montane level and penetrates with fertilization by agriculture in the high Alps one. It is found in meadows and pastures, often under trees. He belongs to the moist to wet-dry plant communities of the grassland ( Molinio - Arrhenatheretea ).
The meadow fescue prefers moist to alternating wet, with strong water movement also moderately wet locations and can be found on fertile and weakly compacted, humus-rich soils as Auelehmböden, clay soils or on melioriertem peaty soil. Sandy soils are only populated when calcareous, moisturized and are rich in nutrients. Sour, hot, flat ground, rohhumusreiche soils are shunned it. He is hardy, not salt- sensitive, and even withstands longer Überstauung; prolonged drought or excessive shading, however, he can not tolerate.
Use and cultivation
The Meadow fescue is one of the most valuable forage grasses grassland, pasture is fixed and is eaten by all animals. He brings after sowing, however, until the second or third year full yield and is depending on the seed mixture or species composition repressed until then easily of fast growing species ( ryegrass, orchard grass, oat grass ). He is best suited for wet meadows with a durable grass-clover mixture with a low proportion of Ryegrass (Lolium ). He is encouraged by moisture, grazing and mowing; in case of excessive nitrogen fertilization by fast-growing species, however displaced.